#FounderShowcase Keynote David Sacks Onstage at TechCrunch Disrupt

In August we announced a great first Keynote Speaker for the 12th Founder Showcase, taking place on Wednesday, November 7th at the Mission Bay Conference Center in San Francisco: David Sacks, Founder & CEO of Yammer. Yammer, an enterprise social network that brings together employees, content, conversations, and business data in a single location, was acquired by Microsoft earlier this Summer for $1.2 billion.

"I think silicon valley as we know it may be coming to an end. In order to create a successful new company, you have to find an idea that (1) has escaped the attention of the major Internet companies, which are better run than ever before; (2) is capable of being launched and proven out for ~$5M, the typical seed plus series A investment; and (3) is protectable from the onslaught of those big companies once they figure out what you're onto. How many ideas like that are left?"

In the conversation, David describes how the internet ecosystem has matured, likening it to a "forest" now covered by a canopy of established companies ("redwoods"). He encourages entrepreneurs to, rather than try to "cut down" the redwoods by attacking huge opportunities (like TV), to instead go after "the outskirts of the forest" and "find new opportunities where the internet is disrupting those industries" (like Uber).

It is a worthwhile watch for any entrepreneur;

We look forward to hearing David’s story at the Founder Showcase on November 7th.

The Founder Institute is the world's largest entrepreneur training and startup launch program, helping aspiring founders across the globe build enduring technology companies. Based in Silicon Valley and with chapters across 50 countries, the Founder Institute has helped launch over 1,563 companies in 5 years. The company's mission is to "Globalize Silicon Valley" and build sustainable startup ecosystems that will create one million new jobs worldwide.